We stopped on the way up to Cortina at Belluno for a look around and then Agordo in the mountains for a coffee in the piazza. The Alps are magnificent and it was a spectacular drive in bright sunshine up about 25 tornante (hairpin bends) up to the top of a mountain before we went through the Giao pass and down to Cortina D’Ampezzo.
When we left Belluno we went through Avoscan from where our family friends the Rossi’s originated. I visited Amelia and Adriano’s grandparents with my father when I was 16 and again it was in the middle of winter and I remember walking through thick snow in my very smart (well I thought so at the time)black and white seal skin boots. I don’t think they were real seal skin! It was wonderful to find the place again (with good directions via email from Amelia) although no one lives there anymore. In winter it was very warm inside the old mill house and the fire heated from what I remember the bed which was inside another room above the stove.
It was a nice trip down memory lane. I remember stopping in winter by a frozen large layered fountain, something which I had never seen before and which looked like fairyland.
The campsite outside Cortina was packed but extremely quiet – the literature we got at the reception desk practically threatened to kill anyone who made a noise between 1-3pm and 11pm and 7am!
It was the most beautiful location with mountains close by on both sides and at you could hear the fast running river day and night.
We used the 1st day of August to catch up on things – self pedicures, washing, emailing, skyeping and blogging.
The next morning we set off for Germany and Garmisch Partenkirchen for a few days.